


Gifts from Below

by TheDiamondSword400



Series: Gifts from below [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Castiel is Not Amused (Supernatural), Castiel is Protective of Dean Winchester, Castiel is So Done (Supernatural), Castiel/Dean Winchester is you squint, Cute Animals, Dean Winchester Loves Pie, Dean Winchester is So Done, Explicit Language, Fruit, Gifts, Guilty Sam Winchester, Hell Trauma, Humor, Injury, Language, Off-Screen Injury, Religious Imagery & Symbolism, Sam Winchester is a Dog Lover, Sam Winchester is trying, Supernatural Elements, Supernatural Pets, lucifer(mentioned) - Freeform, supernatural monsters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-09
Updated: 2019-12-02
Packaged: 2020-04-23 16:28:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19154752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDiamondSword400/pseuds/TheDiamondSword400
Summary: What if Lucifer had tried a different way to get Sam to say yes in Season 5?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm intending for this to hopefully be something of a series. If any one has any other ideas for gifts let me know.

The walls of the Bide 'a Wee motel were covered with four leaf clovers and there was a painting of rosy cheeked hell-spawn of a leprechaun with his pot of gold at the end of a rainbow over the beds. The phone on the bright green nightstand was shaped like a gnome.  
It was almost enough to make him agree with Dean's suggestion that they let the devil torch the place.  
Almost.  
Though if he had to spend another hour staring at the gnome-phone Sam might just save Lucifer the trouble and do it himself.  
Groaning, Sam pinched the bridge of his nose and leaned back in his chair. So far his research had turned up nothing. The town of Desserton, Ohio consisted of a couple of suburbs, a trailer park, a supermarket, a school and the aforementioned eyesore of a motel. It had five gas stations, one with a Subway and a McDonald's on the other side of town. The courthouse and police station were in the same building on the same street as the school. It was founded in the nineteen-twenties by Francis Desserton, who turned out to be nothing more then an ambitious cobbler. The worst thing that ever happened on the land was some squirrels dying after eating laundry detergent out of the trash back in the seventies.  
Quite possibly one of the most boring towns they had ever been to.  
Absolutely no reason for the devil to visit.  
Sam looked up in confusion at the soft rapping sound of someone knocking on the door. Dean, who had left almost as soon as he had entered the room to buy every bottle of booze in town, wouldn't knock. Neither would Bobby, who wasn't even in the state as far as he knew. Cas and the other angels didn't use doors. Demons and any other monsters would just kick it down.  
Curiosity getting the better of him, Sam rose to his feet and moved to cautiously open the door.  
And blinked dumbfounded at what had been revealed.  
A box wrapped in bright pink paper with a big red bow on top sat in front of the door. His name was written on a large white tag attached to the ribbon in a flowery script.  
Sam stared at it for a moment then stuck his head out of the room to glance in both directions. There was no one in sight.  
He glanced back down at the present uncertainly.  
It just sat on the sidewalk, innocent and festive.  
Not sure what else to do, he picked it up and carried it into to the room. Setting it on the table, he gave it another once over. Now that he was giving it a good look he saw that it was in fact two pieces. The large bow perfectly centered on the lid and the ribbons on the lid and box lined up perfectly. To put it simply, it was expertly wrapped. The definition of picture perfect. Nobody he knew had this level of skill at wrapping things.  
Having no more idea where it had come from then before, Sam did the only he could do. And lifted the lid a few cautious inches.  
A small black nose filled the space he had created, a soft whine issuing from inside the box.  
A puppy.  
Someone had left him a puppy.  
Heart racing with giddy excitement and disbelief, Sam whipped the lid off the rest of the way.  
And dropped it to the floor in horror.  
Two glowing red eyes stared up at him as four more glanced around the room. Blue ribbons had been tied in bows around the three necks. Which were attached to a single chubby body.  
It was a Hell-hound.  
Someone had sent him a three headed Hell-hound.  
Sitting beside the calmly curious baby hell-spawn was a white envelope with his name written in the same script as the tag had been.  
Sam carefully reached out and plucked the envelope from the box, making sure to not let his skin come in contact with the creature. Keeping his eye on the beast, he tore it open and pulled out the small rectangle of paper that was inside.  
He read it. The color draining from his face, he sank down onto the bed. He shot a wide eyed look at the beast. Then read it again.  
“What the hell?” he breathed  
The words on the card was written in the same script as was on the tag and envelope. An old-fashioned style that was looping, ornate and clean. The words put a cold dread in his heart and a dumbfounded confusion in his brain.  
'Consider this a bribe.  
~Lucifer'  
Sam glanced back at the placid baby hell-beast, its round little heads the only part of it visible over the edge of the box as looked around the room. Aside from the glowing red eyes and the panicked flutter his heart gave every time he looked at it, it wasn't what he expected a Hell-hound to look like. It had cute floppy ears and white fur that made it look vaguely scruffy.  
Quite honestly he wasn't sure weather to shoot it with the colt or hug it close and bury his face in that soft looking fur.  
His head snapped around as the key turned in the lock and several things happened in quick succession.  
The door swung open to reveal Dean with a six-pack in one hand.  
The demon puppy responded by throwing back its head and letting out an unearthly echoing howl.  
Dean let out a high pitched yelp and reflexively threw the beers in the air as he dove back out the door.  
The pup attempted to lunge out of the box at him but was too small to leap over the side and the box and pup were sent tumbling over the side of the table.  
The box fell on top of the Hell-spawn with a dull thud.  
The beer hit the carpeted floor with a crash.  
The door slammed shut with a bang.  
And Sam was left standing in the middle of the room not entirely sure what had just happened.  
The door clicked back open and Sam watched as the barrel of a gun cautiously peaked through the opening. The door slowly swung inward to reveal a thoroughly freaked out and trigger happy Dean Winchester.  
Sam felt his heart break a little at the look on his brother's face. It had only been little over a year ago that Dean had been torn apart by Hell-hounds. Finding one in their motel room . . .  
It probably wasn't the best thing for his sanity.  
“Sammy?” The older man queried cautiously, voice sounding slightly faint “What the hell was that thing?”  
Before he could think of a response a dull thump sound from the floor and they both look down.  
The present box was thumping against Dean's foot, muffled growls echoing from within.  
Dean stared at the bright pink present aggressively trying to maul his feet “OK, new question.” he said, strength returning to his voice and brow furrowing sharply “Who the hell sent you a freaking present?” he demanded.  
“The devil apparently.”  
Dean's head shot up, green eyes blown cartoonishly wide “What?!”  
“It seems Lucifer's trying a new method to get me to say yes.” Sam told him, handing him the note.  
Dean snatched it from his hand and read it over quickly “Great. That's just great.” he muttered, throwing up his hands “What next, huh? An invite to the prom?” he shot the smashed beer bottles a mournful look and tried to make his way over the bed.  
Emphasis on tried.  
Since he was nearly bowled over by the growling pink box.  
He glared at it as if it had caused him some personal offense. Which considering his history probably wasn't too far off “Sam.” he growled, tone a clear command of 'Move the Dog'.  
Flushing, Sam hurried over to scoop up the pup and box and hold them in his arms.  
Dean made an aborted movement towards the bed and fixed the creature with a glowering look “What is that?”  
Sam blinked uncertainly “Uh.” he shot the otherworldly canine, now back in its box, a quick look before glancing back up at his brother “A Hell-hound?”  
“I've seen Hell-hounds, Sammy, and that's no Hell-hound.” Dean told him gesturing to the creature “For one their not that fluffy. And I'm pretty sure they've only got one head. But right now I think it's more important to figure out what we're going to do with the thing.”  
Sam glanced back down at the pup. Six glowing red eyes looked up to meet his gaze and it began to wag its tail, making a thumping sound issue from inside the box. The bow around the neck of the middle one was slightly askew. One of the ears on the right most head had been flipped back to expose the pink skin of its right ear. The left most head gave a huge yawn a dropped down onto the edge of the box.  
Dean glanced between Sam's mesmerized face and the fluffy little hell-spawn and cursed internally. Running a hand over his face, he flopped backwards onto the bed.  
Looks like they had a dog now.


	2. Forbidden Fruit Basket

Dean was sprawled out on the motel bed, one arm bound to his side in a sling and flipping through channels on the old TV.   
Sam was out, having guiltily promised to get him 'Pie, Lots of pie' before fleeing the room. In truth Dean couldn't have cared less that Sam had misidentified the most recent fugly. Creepy bastard was going around eating people. Even Bobby had thought it was a Rugaru.   
How the hell were they supposed to know that ogres were real?  
He winced and dropped the remote to rub at his right shoulder. The seven foot tall behemoth had dislocated it when tossing him around like a rag doll, snapping his right arm like a twig.   
He didn't blame Sam for freezing.   
Heck, if he hadn't been airborne at the time he would have done the same. Thankfully it seemed that Ruby's blade wasn't just good for killing demons. A quick stab to the neck with the demon killing knife had dropped the monster faster then a vamp on demon blood.   
He looked up in surprise at the sharp sound of someone knocking on the door. Frowning in confusion, he walked over to the door and pulled in open.  
And stared dumbfounded at what was revealed.   
The deliveryman smiled at him over a flowery cellophane wrapped wicker basket of fruit “Mr. Winchester?”  
“Uh, yeah.”  
A clipboard and pen was awkwardly extended “Sign here please.”  
Dean eyed the strange red fruit in the basket as if they were ticking time bombs as he took the clipboard. Deciding that drawing his gun would be an overreaction, he signed quickly.  
“Thank you ,sir!” the delivery man chirped. He awkwardly shuffled the basket into Dean's one good arm and took the clipboard from his hand “There ya are. Have a good one!” with that he spun around, hopped into his van and drove away.  
Leaving Dean standing in the doorway holding a fruit basket.  
Not knowing what else to do, he reentered the room and kicked the door shut. Which was quite the balancing act with his one good arm being occupied.  
He set the basket on the table and finally gave it a good once over. While the cellophane was obnoxiously floral and the basket large and made out of cheep wicker, both could be found pretty much anywhere.   
The fruit on the other hand were just plain creepy.   
They looked like a cross between an apple and pomegranates, skin a bright red color that darkened almost to black at the stem. Dean cautiously picked one up and sniffed it, jerking back as the pungent scent assaulted his nostrils. They also smelt like the unholy love child of tobacco and chocolate. He placed the fruit back in the basket and slowly spun it around with his good hand, trying to find some clue to who might of sent it “Bingo.” he grinned as his eyes lit on the card taped to the basket. He pulled it free and quickly tore it open “Let's see if we can't get some answers here.” he muttered to himself as he drew out the note and read it.   
'Dearest Sam,   
Here's a little snack for the road in case you get peckish.  
~Lucifer'  
Color draining from his face, Dean shot a horrified look at the basket “No.” he turned the note over in his hands “No way.”  
No way the devil sent his little brother a fruit basket.  
He dropped the note on the table and ran a hand through his hair as he cursed under his breath. First the demon dog and now this. It was almost enough to make him wish the Devil would go back to threatening them.  
Dean let out a frustrated sigh as he eyed the basket. He was half tempted to just chuck the thing out the door and be done with it. But considering who the sender was he wouldn't be surprised if doing so brought a rain of fire and brimstone down on his head.   
Let Sam decide what do do with the blasted thing. It was for him anyway.   
He pointedly turned his back on the basket and plopped back down on the bed. He grabbed the remote and resumed flipping through channels, determined to ignore the large basket of fruit.

Dean huffed in annoyance and turned off the TV. There was nothing on but the news and he had no interest in listening to people squabble about politics. Well, there was a Gilligan's Island marathon on, but he wasn't sick enough to handle that. He sighed and shot a look at the door as he rubbed absentmindedly as his stomach.  
Sam wasn't back yet. He was starting get hungry and there wasn't any food in the motel room.   
Well, that technically wasn't true. The basket of devil fruit probably counted as food. Loosely.  
Dean shook his head, sharply. Yeah, not happening. He'd just have Sam pick up some burgers from a diner on the way back. He reached into his pockets to grab his flip phone and called Sam.   
He blinked in confusion as a muffled ringing filled the hotel room. He turned towards the sound and frowned as he noticed Sam's green jacket hanging from the back of one of the chairs. Still holding his own phone against his ear, Dean walked over and reached into the pocket of the coat. He pulled out Sam's Blackberry and closed his eyes in frustration “Damn it, Sam.” he muttered.  
He snapped his phone shut and shoved it back into his pocket, tossing Sam's onto the table as he scowled in annoyance. The Blackberry slid across the table and hit the basket, bouncing off.  
Dean eyed it for a moment then glanced at the basket. He frowned and glanced out the window. No sign of Sam and no way to contact him. He was getting really hungry.  
He grabbed one of the fruit from the basket and turned it over in his hand. It was still creepy but he doubted it would kill him. Lucifer needed Sam alive after all, so it probably wasn't poisoned.   
Dean tossed the fruit in the air, weighing his options, then shrugged. Eh, what the hell? He moved to take a bite out of the fruit.  
And jumped nearly a foot in the air as a hand slammed down on his wrist.   
“Jesus, Cas, What the hell?!” Dean exclaimed, taking a deep breath to try and calm his racing heart.  
The angel didn't reply, features hard as he glared with righteous fury.  
At the fruit.  
“Where did you get this?” Castiel demanded gruffly.  
“Um.” Dean nodded towards the very large basket on the table. Cas turned his head to follow the gesture and frowned sharply.  
“Maybe let go of my hand before you smite the fruit?” Dean requested, quirking an eyebrow at the angel.   
Cas fixed him with a look of divine disapproval “This is no time for jokes, Dean. Now I will only ask this once more: Where did you get the Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge?”  
Dean opened his month, ready to inform the angel that he was not joking. He liked his hand where it was thank you very much. Then closed it as the angel's word's finally registered. His hand fell open and the fruit hit the floor with a thud, rolling out of sight “Come again?”  
“I said-”  
“I heard you!” Dean exclaimed, cutting. Cas released his wrist as he turned away and ran his fingers through his hair. He took a deep, stabilizing breath before turning back to the Angel “What exactly do those things do?” he demanded.  
Castiel tilted his head, an complex look passing over his face “What they do is not nearly as important as how they came to be here. Now answer my question.”  
“Question?”  
Castiel let out a put upon sigh and raised his eyes briefly to the heavens with a long suffering look before glancing back at the human before him “Where did you get the fruit, Dean?”  
“Lucifer.”  
Cas stared at him as if he wasn't sure whether to have a panic attack or fly into a fit of rage “Lucifer sent you a fruit basket?!” the angel demanded incredulously  
“Well, technically he sent it to Sam.” Dean wilted at the look Cas shot him, blue eyes flaring bright with grace. He sank down to sit on the edge of the bed, feeling like a scolded child and not at all happy about it “He included a note.” he added a little lamely, gesturing to the table.   
Castiel turned away from him, having to search the table for a moment before finding the slip of paper. The angel read the short message over, features becoming pinched “Why would the Devil send you a fruit basket?” he demanded, not taking his eyes off the bit of cardstock as he turned it over in his hands.  
Dean shrugged, having long ago resigned himself to how weird his life was “The Devil has been trying to bribe Sam into saying yes.” he confessed.  
The angel shot him a look over his shoulder that was thankfully more confused then the previously threatening stare “This has happened before?”  
“Uh, yeah. Guess I should have mentioned it to you before.” he glanced at the basket of fruit. Man, he was hungry.  
He drew back in surprise as Castiel suddenly appeared in front of him, nose barely an inch from his own “Woah, Cas. Personal space, ever heard of it?” he demanded, raising his arm to push the angel back.  
“The fruit is already effecting you.” Cas told him with all the seriousness of a doctor telling his patient he only had six months left to live and raised his hand “Let me-”  
He was interrupted by the click of the motel room door unlocking and they both turned their heads as it swung open. Sam stepped in loaded down with grocery bags and froze, hazel eyes widening “Um.” he glanced between them rapidly, flushing “I can come back?”  
Dean frowned in confusion at this and glanced at Cas, confused. His face fell as few things suddenly became clear.   
He was laying on the bed with his hand gripping the angel's coat. Castiel was standing between his legs and leaning over him, only an inch away. Practically straddling him. Which meant that it looked like they were -  
Nope. Not happening.  
He kicked out, booted foot connecting with Cas's midsection sharply. The angel fell back, thrown off balance more from the shock then the blow itself, ass hitting the motel floor with a thud. Startled blue eyes blinked and stared up at Dean in stunned confusion as the hunter scrambled to his feet. He winced in pain and cursed silently. He'd broken something in his foot kicking the angel off of him. That was just his luck. He could worry about that later, there was far more important things to be concerned about at the moment.  
“I can leave if you two want to explore your 'profound bond'.”  
Namely, annoying little brothers.   
He pointed a threatening finger at the younger man, green eyes narrowing as he glared “Not another word. Did you get the pie?”  
Sam didn't bother hiding the amused grin tugging at his lips as he hefted to bags up in a placating gesture “I got it right here.” he assured him and turned to place the bags on the table.  
And froze.  
“Dean, what is that?” He demanded in a suddenly small voice, pointing to the fruit basket.  
“Exactly what it looks like. Your health kick has finally come to bite you in the butt.”  
Sam rolled his eyes in exasperation as he dumped the bags onto one of the chairs “The fact that I don't clog my arteries with greasy diner food has nothing to do with it.” he said, shooting his older brother a look.   
After the demon blood, releasing the devil and the whole 'pick a hemisphere' thing Dean had picked up a habit Sam like to think of as 'aggressive normalcy'. Singing badly to the radio and teasing Sam about inane stuff. Thankfully any chance of him pulling pranks had been nipped in the bud some time ago. Bobby had just about torn Dean a new one after the old hunter had caught him trying to tie Sam's shoelaces together while they were working on the Impala.   
Dean quirked an eyebrow, expression remarkably serious despite the amused smirk tugging at his lips “Come on, Sammy. Can you honestly tell me that if you weren't such a salad junkie the Devil wouldn't be trying to bribe you with fruit baskets?”   
“This is no joking matter.” Castiel snapped, blue eyes flashing as he glared.  
Sam was extremely thankful that the angel had drawn Dean's attention away from him. It gave him a chance to compose himself. While he had a pretty good poker face it wasn't enough to fool Dean. Maybe someday the term 'junkie' wouldn't set off an avalanche of guilt.  
“Lucifer should not be able to find you. Much less be sending you . . . gift baskets.” the angel continued, brow furrowing at the last bit in the expression he always got when it came to human things he considered incomprehensible “The sigils carved on your ribs should have made this impossible.”  
“Technically it wasn't Lucifer who delivered the fruit basket. Just some delivery guy.” Dean wilted slightly as the other two turned to stare at him.  
Sam frowned, eyes growing distant with thought “Was he a demon?”  
“What?”  
“The delivery guy. Was he a demon?”  
“Uh.” Dean thought back to earlier that day and mentally kicked himself as he came to a sudden realization “I . . . didn't cheek.” he threw up his hand at the incredulous look Sam shot him “I know,I know. Amateur move. You can have Bobby ream me out later. Though in my defense he wasn't acting like a demon.”  
Sam quirked an unimpressed eyebrow, looking enough like their father to give Dean flashbacks “What does that mean exactly?”  
“He was . . . chirpy.” Dean shook his head, ignoring the confused head tilt the angel directed at him “Look, the thing we need to be concerned about right now is how the Devil is able to send you these things.” he said, forcibly changing the subject, and waved his hand towards the table.  
Sam followed his gesture and stepped closer to the table with a frown as he stared at the fruit “What exactly are these things?” he asked  
“They are the Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge.” Castial told them “They are already having an adverse effect on Dean.”  
The two stared at him wide eyed in stunned shock. Dean, remembering that the angel had mentioned this earlier, took a step further back from the table and the now threatening basket of fruit “What exactly do you mean by 'adverse effect'.” he demanded  
“The Fruit have a highly tempting aura.” the angel explained, seemingly oblivious to the panic of the two humans “It is lucky I was able to prevent you from consuming the Fruit.”   
“You tried to eat it?!” Sam exclaimed, spinning around to fix Dean with an incredulous look.  
“Hey, man, I was hungry and you had forgotten your phone.” Dean countered defensively “Besides this motel room ain't exactly The Garden of Eden. There's nothing to eat in here.” he said, spreading his hand in a gesture to encompass the motel room  
Sam star at him in silence for a long moment, bemused “Dean, I was only gone for forty-five minutes. You just ate two hours ago.”  
Dean stiffened uncertainly and glanced at the digital clock sitting on the side table between the beds. The numbers 6:34 seemed to stare balefully back at him. “No. No way. It's been a lot longer then that.” he protested.  
“It is the effect of the fruit.” Castiel informed them, beginning to sound a bit annoyed. This was the third time he had tried to explain this “The aura of the fruit effects the minds of those in proximity to it. Manipulating the perceptions of surrounding humans to force them into a state where they will be most likely to consume it.”  
Sam frowned and shot the basket a look. He eye was more drawn to the cellophane then the fruits in truth. The thought that Lucifer might have picked out the brightly colored sixties style flowers covered plastic was . . . Well, it made him feel things. Strongly. He just wasn't willing to think to deeply on that. But he knew he didn't like it “Is there anyway we can dispose of it without risking someone else finding it?” he asked, glancing at the angel  
“I will take care of it.” Castiel assured him, albeit a bit stiffly. This had taken a lot longer then the angel believed it had to but he suspected he would have to get used to it. From past experiences he knew that the Winchesters could never do things simply “If Dean let's me I will also remove the fruit's effects before I go.”  
Dean blinked and frowned “Wait, is that what you were doing before?” he demanded, gesturing toward the bed.  
“Yes.”  
You're not going to have to straddle me again are you?”  
Castiel frowned and tilted his head to one side, brow furrowing sharply in what Dean had nicknamed the angel's 'Confused Bird Impression'. “No.” he stated flatly in a tone that implied he was questioning the intelligence of humanity.   
“Well, that fine then. Go ahead.”  
Moving forward,the angel reached out and pressed two fingers to his forehead. Unlike the other times Cas had healed him, Dean felt a weird tingle race through his body. It was almost . . . minty fresh? There really wasn't any other way to describe it. He blinked and frowned uncertainly “Did that work? I don't feel any different.”  
“Do you wish to eat the fruit?” Castiel asked, eyeing him intently.  
“No. they're creepy.”  
“Then it worked.” the angel turned away, walking over to the table “I will try to discover how Lucifer has been able to track you after I dispose of the fruit.” Castiel promised them as he reached for the basket.  
“Those things won't effect you like they did Dean, will they?” Sam asked, eyeing the angel with sudden concern.  
“No.” Castiel assured him as he picked up the basket. The sight was rather comical, large basket gripped awkwardly in the angel's arms as he turned back to face them “The Fruit of the Tree only effects humans. While I am Fallen I am still an Angel of the Lord.”  
You couldn't really argue with that “Just be careful, ok?” Dean urged  
“Your concern is unnecessary.” Castiel replied.  
And the brothers were suddenly alone in the motel room. Dean rocked back on his heels and let out a hiss between teeth “I hate when he does that.” he muttered, rubbing his injured arm as he turned away “I need some pie. What kind did you get?” he demanded as he stooped over the shopping bags sitting on the nearby chair, ruffling through their contents “Ooh, Cherry!” he gushed, holding the pie aloft like he had just found buried treasure.  
Sam rolled his eyes at his brother's antics as he collapsed onto the bed. Sometimes he wondered who was the more mature in their relationship.  
After a brief argument ('What the hell is Boysenberry?' 'Shut up and use a fork, Dean. That's disgusting') the two went to bed and headed out early the next morning leaving nothing behind.  
Except for a red fruit under the bed.


End file.
